History

Women Speak For Themselves was formed in 2012, in response to the Obama Administration’s HHS Mandate. The Mandate forced religious non-profits and business owners to provide contraception and abortifacients to their employees, free of charge to the employee. It was heralded as a win for women’s freedom, and opponents of the mandate were portrayed by the media and Members of Congress as waging a “war on women.”

Attorneys and neighbors Helen Alvare and Kim Daniels knew better. They knew there were thousands of women, all across the U.S., who had seen or experienced the ways contraception and abortion have immiserated women. They also knew how religious organizations, instead of being enemies to women, were allies who offered a better path for women seeking authentic freedom in sex, dating, and marriage. So they penned an open letter, and collected signatures in order to set the record straight. (Text of the letter can be found here)

The open letter was introduced on the floor of Congress, mocked on Jon Stewart, and went viral among ordinary women across the U.S. Within just a few weeks, nearly 10,000 women signed onto the letter through word of mouth promotion. Soon, the letter became a movement.

Presently, more than 70,000 WSFT members across the nation have worked in their communities to speak for themselves about women’s freedom. Their efforts have helped to represent a better version of women’s freedom has been represented in the media, and in local communities nationwide.

Our members speak for themselves in local papers, on social media, among their friends, and within their communities.The results? Several successful campaigns disrupting or changing a false media narrative about women’s freedom and happiness.

WSFT-led local and national efforts give ordinary women an opportunity to make their voices heard about women’s freedom and happiness and religious freedom. Beyond media attention, this has generated a stronger sense of unity among women across the nation, who have felt ignored or silenced for too long.